Nightfall
by Wulf
Summary: Life isn't always fair. Tseng. Mildest hints of yaoi.


Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

AN/ Warnings: Mildest hints of YAOI. Explicit gore, coarse language.

Genre(s): Angst, drama, death.

Setting: Disc One, Temple of Ancients.

  
  


Nightfall

It is easy to be wise after the event.

-Proverb

  
  


Reno had never been a very eloquent man, but he had a way with words. He was brutal and precise, which gave off the effect that he simply said whatever came into his mind without a second thought. His disheveled appearance only added to the illusion that he was an escaped mental patient, and not the intelligent and astute man he was. However, wit and perception had nothing to do with what he said next.

"Aw, fuck."

Summing up the scene before him in two simple words, Reno sprinted forward, into the semi-darkness of the temple, brushing cobwebs and dust out of his way, boots crunching the dirt and crumbled stone beneath. Tseng was lifeless and unmoving, propped against an ornately decorated pillar, dark stands of hair hanging in his face, one hand resting on his stomach, a pool of scarlet spreading below him. The only indication that the Turk was still alive was the shallow rise and fall of his chest, and the fact that he was still bleeding.

Not wasting another moment, Reno ran to his side, crouching beside the Asian Turk, clammy hands reaching out to give him a gentle shake on the shoulder. "Hey," Reno hissed, a frightened tinge to the edge of his voice that he didn't like. He swallowed, shaking harder, not knowing what else to do.

"Tseng," he whispered, his voice hitching, the fear growing in him when a distant splintering sound reached his ears, the low rumble reverberating throughout the temple. Stone dust rained down on his head, and Reno at once decided that whatever was starting to happen, he sure as hell didn't want to wait around for it. Breathing his friend's name once more, Reno did the only thing he could think of doing, and with a sharp crack, he brought his hand down across the older man's face.

The sudden sting finally brought Tseng around, and with a fragile moan that sounded nothing like the strong, reserved leader of the Turks, he struggled to open his eyes. Focusing through long dark lashes, Tseng caught site of a flash of red hair, immediately realizing that Reno was with him, that he wasn't dead and Reno was with him.

".....Reno?" he managed to rasp, the pain coursing through him sharp and burning, ripping his breath from his body. He closed his eyes again, resting his head against the hard pillar, feeling weak and tired and used up. The blood was thick and gummy between his fingers, the skin beneath wet and slick and soft.

"Yeah, pal, it's me," Reno said hurriedly, relieved and scared and anxious all at once, his mind a hazy mass of near hysteria as he struggled to keep his friend awake and alive and get them both out of the creepy-ass temple and succeeding at none of them. Putting one arm around Tseng's shoulders and the other on his chest, Reno grunted, struggling to lift the heavier Turk, who cried out in pain and agony when his intestines spilled from his middle and Reno realized just how bad his wound was.

Ohmygodholyshitohfuck--

Reno let go, Tseng's innards feeling hot and wet and alarmingly squishy in his hands as he tried shoving the pinkish ropes of flesh back in the immense ragged hole in Tseng's stomach, the dark haired Turk screaming in agony the entire time.

"God damn it, Reno," Tseng ground out, slapping his friend's hands away, teeth clenched and eyes stinging from the white hot pain. The edges of his vision went fuzzy and dark, and for a brief, hopeful moment, Tseng thought he was going to pass out.

Reno wold have none of that. "We can fix this," he said, his voice cracking slightly, stomach churning. The red-haired Turk pulled off his rumpled jacket, quickly tying around Tseng's wound, hoping that it would stop anything from coming back out. Tseng groaned again, his breath hissing out in wheezing gasps.

The floor shook again, and Reno decided it was time to leave.

"C'mon now, get up, Tseng. We're leaving," he babbled, pulling up the wounded Turk despite his protesting and cursing, throwing Tseng's arm over his shoulders and putting an arm around his waist, dragging him into the glaring sunlight in a shambling jog.

Reno grunted, sweat trickling down his brow from the strain, Tseng slumped against him as the two stumbled across the wobbling wooden bridge, the temple shuddering behind them, crumbling on its foundations. Reno didn't look back when he heard the tremendous dying rumble of the Temple of Ancients.

Reno managed to drag Tseng to small clearing in the thick forest that surrounded the temple. He propped the Turk against the white, smooth trunk of a birch tree, untying his jacket and pulling up Tseng's shirt to assess his wound.

Oh, god.....

The ragged hole was several inches across, soft organs visible through shreds of bloody flesh. Reno swallowed, binding his jacket back around Tseng's stomach and casting Cure, simply because he didn't know what else to do.

If Tseng was affected by the soft white magik, he made no indication, eyes closed as he leaned against the tree, mouth open with labored breaths. Reno bit his lip, feeling useless and stupid, young and inexperienced, fear and self-loathing settling like ice in his stomach because he had to watch Tseng die just because he didn't know what to do.

Shifting his position, he wrapped his arms around the wounded Turk, sagging against the tree, Tseng resting in his arms, head nestled against his shoulder. Reno stared up at the sky, drenched in shades of pink and red, the shimmering disk of orange kissing the horizon. Tseng moved against him, and suddenly Reno had to bite back a sob.

Not fair, it's not fair......

"Y'know....." Reno paused, clearing his throat to keep it from cracking. "You can't die on me. Rufus'll rip my head off and shove it up my ass if I don't come back with his favorite Turk."

Below him, Tseng tried to laugh, a hissing cough escaping his lips. "He'll do more than that."

Reno closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the tree, a bittersweet smile on his lips as he tightened his grip on the dying Tseng. "Maybe he'll just feed me to Dark Nation."

A moment of silence passed between the two, Tseng no doubt thinking of blonde hair and blue eyes, and things still left to be said. And when the quiet got too much and started to scare him, Reno cleared his throat again, speaking up.

"Y'know.... you never told me what that dot is all about."

Tseng smiled, his eyes shut, a trickle of blood running down his chin to his neck. "If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."

Then, almost as an after thought, "Ask Rufus."

Quiet settled over the two again, and Reno once again looked to the sky, dark tinctures of purple and navy engulfing the blazing red-pinks, the sun long gone, leaving the world in darkness as an icy breeze began to blow through the forest. Reno dipped his head slightly, closing his eyes.

And when the body in his arms began to grow cold he let the sobs rip through him.


End file.
